Kids Hate Friday Homework?

Then don´t assign it. That doesn´t mean that you should give students a "free day." Adjust your testing schedule and give a short test once a week rather than one long one at the end of a chapter or unit. Shorter tests are easier and faster to grade. This also gives students more grades which helps to even out those low test scores.

Need Help Grading Oral Presentations?

Are students memorizing poems? Speeches? Parts in a play? Not sure how to grade them? This scale from
A Beka book works really well:

No errors or hesitation - A
No errors, hesitation or slight error - B
Average, couple of small errors - C
More errors or hesitation - D
Not sufficiently prepared - F
Nothing at all - 0

This is very subjective, but it at least gives you a guideline to start with. Try not to compare students.

Consistency

Be consistent. Do what you say you are going to do and do it with every student!

Sarcasm

Always be careful to correct students in ways that show them respect. Sarcasm embarrasses them and causes them to react angrily toward you.

Criticism

You´re going to run into it - a parent, the principal, your neighbor-teacher. Stay cool under fire. Criticism can be turned to an advantage. Instead of wasting energy trying to defend yourself, listen to what the critics say and learn from it.

Have Big Windows In Your Classroom?

Have students help you decorate them with themes from your class using Tempura paint. It is water-based so it comes off easily when you start a new unit and it doesn´t stain rugs, carpets or clothes. It will really brighten up your classroom. I like to paint themes about the school mascot.

Students Don´t Bring Their Books To Class? (hs)

Petition the principal for a classroom set of each of the books that you teach from. Students always have one handy and you never have to send them to their lockers.

Be Flexible.

When teaching, be flexible and ready for surprises. Principals have been known to assign teachers a single class with grades kindergarten through fourth grade.

Teach Critical Thinking

In the age of Internet, when there´s exposure to lots of materials, not all of them accurate or true, high school and college students have to be taught that not everything served to them by the media, Internet and even academic books, is "true".
Here are a few solutions:
* Record some advertisements, election campaigns, etc. Discuss the "hidden agenda" and the "hidden messages" in them.
* "Tackle" the class: Give them a reading list that contains "inaccurate" materials, and discuss it after they read it. The material could be: Outdated research, an Internet site that was written by a company or an amatuer, commercial material that "disguises" itself as "neutral," Holocaust denial, etc.
* Present how the same event could be written differently by different people.

Are Your Students Too Mouthy?

Communicate your concerns to your students in a non-accusatory manner. You must be very clear with your expectations. Suggest appropriate words or phrases. When the behavior recurs, address it, give a consequence, tell your students what you want to hear instead. Finally, be consistent. Do not allow them to get by with it on some occasions and not others.

Respect?

Show and require respect in the classroom at all times. Do not back down on this one.

Planning

Plan relentlessly. Create back-up plans and plans for teaching students of varying abilities. Create a good set of sub plans. You never know what is going to happen.

Can´t get those posters to stay on the wall?

After you have them all laminated, use your hot glue gun to hang your posters on the wall. They will stick until you take them down. The glue doesn´t marr the paint and it peels off the back of the posters easily when you take them down!

Naming The Problem

Memorize students´ names right away. It shows respect and a sincere desire to reach them at their level.

Need help decorating all those bulletin boards?

Use the themes from your texts. Doing a unit on energy? Make a bulletin board showing all the sources of energy.

Students love to help cut things out and even to color for you.

Coaching and Clubs

Participate in extracurricular activities. This strengthens relationships with students and can be enjoyable. Caution: Don´t allow the extracurricular activities to consume more time than it should. Your primary job (and thus your focus) is to teach students.

Teacher Mistakes Are Okay

Teachers never make mistakes? Right. ::rolling eyes:: And they commute to every day from Mount Olympus. Of course, teachers make mistakes. I´ve been making mistakes for 33-years in the classroom, especially when I write fast on the board and accidentally leave out letters.The important idea here is that I don´t try to cover up my errors with, "Oh, I just was testing you to see if you were paying attention." How are children going to learn that it´s okay to make mistakes unless the teacher models this behavior?

Newspaper Activities for a Rainy Day

Have students look in the newspaper to see how many different sports were played yesterday. Who won? Who lost? What kind of equipment does each sport use? A ball? A puck? A net?

Extend this activity by having students look up the origins of one of the sports and the equipment that is used in it.

Classroom Atmosphere

Teachers make your classroom inviting. Keep live plants in the room. Decorate walls with bright posters. Keep necessities in the classroom - tissue paper, extra pencils, scrap paper. Allow students to bring bottled water into the classroom. If you have room, make a reading/homework corner where students can kick back on beanbags or big pillows to work. Play nice instrumental music in the background. Students appreciate some noise - just the way it is at home. If they feel comfortable in your room, they will feel more comfortable with you as well.

How To Say I´m Sorry

How to apologize - Admit your responsibility. Explain what you were thinking or trying to accomplish. Tell the person you recognize that you hurt their feelings and that you feel bad about it. Tell the person you wish to be their friend and seek forgiveness. Ask for forgiveness. Do something to show you wish makeup for the hurt or offense. Think over the situation and what you can do differently in a similar situation next time.